There is a nasty historical reality to the great kingdoms of the Sahel. For all the grandeur of the gold trade including the fantastic stories surrounding Mansa Musa the ruler of the Mali Empire in the late 13th and early 14th century, the salt trade or even the ivory and leather trades, by far the most sustained and profitable commodity within the Sahel was humans. Or to put it bluntly, the slave trade.

This was not the transatlantic trade which fed the European colonies in the Americas, but rather a much older system focused on supplying north Africa, Arabia, Turkey and the Middle East. Islam played a large role in the justification and political aspects of the trade and it became increasingly important by the early 19th century as one of the main sources of revenue for Bornu and the Sokoto Caliphate.

Islamic law was often used as the justification for the trade with the key element being the legality of slaving among non converted peoples. This allowed rulers to conduct slaving raids against pagan populations. The resulting captives were not only exported but also intricately linked with the way of life in the Islamic Sahel. Slaves were not just used as a labour source but also served as important functionaries within the state. Holding positions of administrative power as a method to reduce corruption and prevent hereditary abuse. However this 'kinder' side to the trade would have been little comfort to the thousands upon thousands taken on the brutal journey to the north African coast and Ottoman territories.

Because slave raiding was one of the primary methods to supply revenue for the leadership of kingdoms and emirates, by default it became one of the primary occupations of their fighting men. This brief essay of course cannot capture the intricacies of the trade, the many nuances of how it was practised from area to area or the full societal impact it had. However it is important to make it very clear the military aspects of many kingdoms were backed up by the trade in slaves which allowed for imported goods, blades, horses, armour and other accoutrements of war.

There is one sword in my collection which perhaps shows a physical connection to the trade. It is a large sword with a heavy blade, certainly European in origin and marked with a lion. The ricasso is thick and sturdy, the blade shows signs of heavy use and sharpening.

The hilt is unusual in that it is silvered, but the most intriguing aspect of the entire sword is a motif in repousse work on the guard.

Reproduced on each side of the guard is a simple design, a straight line and two loops. A simple geometric design perhaps, like many decorative elements found on takouba. This particular sword is perhaps from the Yoruba, further into West Africa than most takouba seen. But this design is I think not the result of simply a different culture's taste in geometric decoration. Rather these two little motifs resemble exactly a set of slave shackles of the type commonly used in the Sahel.

Was this design placed on the guard to symbolise how the owner came by his wealth and the ability to afford such a fine weapon? It is a thought that would offend the sensibilities of most modern folk, however the grim reality of the time was that it was precisely by that method that many swords were bought, blades were afforded luxurious mounts and the cycle continued.

The steel, at the heart of any sword, is often an enigma. Hidden by patina and age, the texture and properties of an antique sword are often not readily apparent. But occasionally an extant example will exhibit damage or flaws that reveals something of the inner character. This is one such example.

While an exact dating is not viable at this time, it is certainly an 'older' sword. The blade is worn, the pommel is large and globular.

Critically the blade shows a forging flaw, which over time exhibited a section of the inner core of the blade. This is particularly interesting, because for most collectors a blade reveals on its surface. Without taking physical samples for lab analysis a private collector rarely has a good sense of the characteristics of a sword blade beyond what physical details can be ascertained from the surface and the general properties it exhibits such as flex.

So for me, this particular sword, with its rather obvious flaw, is one of the most interesting swords I own. It is almost certainly of entirely native manufacture, including the iron ore used to forge it.

The blade has a single, somewhat wavy fuller and reasonable thickness and flex. The edge is very keen and does not show the usual marks of rough sharpening.

The main 'window' into the sword is a large section of the outer layer of steel which has worn or dropped away.

The sword has an outer layer, which jackets the inside of the blade. I am not enough of a metallurgist or smith to infer precisely what this means, but certainly there appears to be multiple layers of material.

The rest of the blade shows lamination consistent with this.

Both cracks near the fuller and lamination lines at the edge of the blade. This is perhaps also indicative of slag being present in the blade. The surface is pockmarked from age.

This blade has all the hallmarks of a very old sword. The pommel in particular is quite interesting. It features some more recent repairs in the form of solder. But the main structure of the pommel seems to be of the same age as the blade. The grip is much more recent, a simple affair of bronze sheet and leather strapping.

The medial ridge shows faintly the original geometric line decoration, now worn almost smooth through use. This is a testament to the many hands that have held this sword, slowly with the passage of time creating this aged surface.

Oddly enough this is one of the cheapest takouba I have ever acquired. It came out of Germany from an online auction. As I recall I was the only bidder. The humble and rough appear obviously put most people off. I have had this sword for years, but it still remains one of my favorites. An old warrior with a little window into its steel heart.

I have talked before about classification and shared some thoughts on when a desire to precisely label a sword to a particular tribe is perhaps not as important as many ethnographic collectors stress or feel necessary. But now I want to talk about the opposite. When a sword has a place.

Within antique arms and armour, certain geographical spheres of collecting have emerged.The term Indo Persian tends to be used to cover an enormous range of styles and types as does the label 'Arab'. Islamic is an even more overarching label, used to designate a dizzying array of weaponry which happened to be produced within the traditional regions of the so called Islamic world. That the decorative metalwork and fittings on many of these items, at least in an Arabian context, were in fact produced by craftsmen who were Jewish or other religious minorities is rarely mentioned.

For those who are slightly more concerned with precision, a mixture of ethnic and regional terminology is often used. Indian, Persian, Arab etc. General labels although each has many sub styles within.
For better or for worse, these spheres have evolved in the lexicon of collectors and museums to be common place. Certain styles tend to be strongly, even immediately associated with a particular sphere. For example the shamshir, or the Turkish kilij are iconic silhouettes that most collectors will recognize and immediately pigeon hole mentally into a specific sphere.

For all the faults of these wide ranging and at times inaccurate terms, they do at least convey some sense of the interconnected world these weapons belonged to. There was a great fascination for writers and travelers in the 18th and 19th century with the exotic Turkish, Arab and eastern world and their trappings, this was particularly the case in the Victorian era and is readily evident in both fiction and non fiction from the time.
Africa held an entirely different mystique, that of the dark continent, hidden, unknown.

Agadez, Niger

The focus was on discovery, geography and the allure of the supposedly primitive societies living there. Very little connection was made between the material culture of Sahel kingdoms and their coastal Islamic counterparts. Certainly these areas were not viewed as part of the wider 'Islamic World' encompassing the Maghreb and Egypt.

16th century Mamluk manual Source: British Library

A curious gap occurs then when examining African arms from these areas.
Sudanese weaponry is occasionally recognized within its greater sphere of an outlier of Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt due to the popular demand for information on the opponents the British faced in their Sudanese campaigns, but the western Sahel, Bornu, the Hausa states, the Sokoto Caliphate, Songhai to name just a few, are little known simply as names, not to mention their weaponry.

A takouba with a 17th century European blade.

The takouba has never had the recognition it deserves as having a rightful place in the panoply of so called 'Islamic' arms. Its rich Berber heritage and the ancient connections with Mamluk Egypt whiched helped to shape the military aspects of the cultures that used it, more than earn it a place along side the other iconic swords of the Islamic world.
For centuries the takouba remained a window into medieval sword design among the Berber and Arab world, preserved in Africa. This remains one of my main motivators for continued takouba research, collectors deserve to understand the position of this sword and the takouba deserves to ascend to its rightful place within Islamic arms.

If you were going to die in martial conflict in the Sahel, chances are it wouldn't be by the sword. Rather it would be one of weapons pictured below. The humble spear.

This particular example is a large cavalry lance from the border regions of Cameroon and Nigeria, but be it a lance or a footman's spear, this simple weapon armed the majority of Sahel combatants. In combination with the power of a mount, be that a horse or in the case of many Tuareg, a camel, this was an unstoppable weapon capable of overcoming even the iron cuirasses of Bornu or maille.

The mounted cavalry were the true power in the region and the ability to field costly mounts, which were difficult to maintain in the climate, was a battle winner. Still, the killing stroke came more often than not from the lance rather than the highly prized swords. This was a thrusting weapon and the tips were often designed to pierce armor. This one exhibits those characteristics with a very acute point, but a heft rib leading into it, form a four sided shape. This is built to withstand the shock of a charge and thrust.

While there are a multitude of regional differences the basic pattern remained the same. A strong blade, often with a central rib, a thick base and socket. Often the socket was a simple compression fit. Wood warped easily in the conditions of the Sahel and hafts needed replacing. An iron foot or counterweight was common.

As with most weapons geometric line decoration was common. This one has a nicely worked base. The whole piece is an excellent example of local smith craft. Sadly I have not focused on collecting these, but happily buy examples when they become available. These are relatively unstudied with little literature available to distinguish them accurately by region. The are also damn hard to ship when the shaft is intact, meaning I have sadly had to pass over quite a few interesting examples in foreign auctions.

While I am as fascinated as most people with the sword and its noble connotations and lofty status, I think everyone should remember that across the Sahel and indeed much of the world, kingdoms were won and lost by the spear.